Identity card, information carrier and housing designed for its application

ABSTRACT

An identity card comprises an easy-to-use, more specifically card-shaped, information carrier provided with an electronically readable memory capable of digitally storing personal user data, including data concerning the user&#39;s physical features. The information carrier is installed in and can be removed from an input unit of a housing of comfortable dimensions. The housing has been provided with reading equipment which is capable of reading the personal data stored in the memory of the information carrier. Moreover, the housing has been provided with a screen for representing the data read.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns an identity card comprising aneasy-to-use, more specifically a card-shaped, information carrierprovided with an electronically readable memory which is capable ofdigitally storing personal user data including the user's physicalcharacteristics.

At present, an identity card is usually a document issued by thegovernment, such as a passport or a driving licence, or a proof ofidentity which is applied within a specific business environment or fora particular professional group. In all these cases, the identity cardcomprises a representation in the form of a passport photograph of auser in combination with the printed personal data of the user,

However, this type of identity card has the disadvantage of beingsusceptible to fraud After all, the picture on the photo is the onlyindication that the data on the card belong to its user. The comparisonbetween this picture and the actual appearance of the user is based onthe subjective interpretation of the controlling officer, which may alsobe affected by the user's changes in appearance after the identity cardwas issued. In addition, this regular type of identity cards are to avarying degree susceptible to forgery, as well as to loss and theft.

Nowadays there are also identity cards known, which are based on memorycards, which may or may not be smart cards, as information carriers. Anexample of this has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,068. In thisthe external characteristics of the card user are written to the card'smemory in encrypted form. In case of an access control the user'scharacteristics are recorded and compared with the information stored onthe card by means of a central processing unit. Only if the data matchis the desired access granted.

Although this means of identification in itself is highly reliable andfraud-proof, nevertheless a disadvantage lies in the fact that theimplementation. requires relatively advanced and specifically suitedequipment which will not be generally available everywhere. This makesthis type of identity card only suitable for a closed circuit of users,e.g. a specific professional group or employees/co-workers within aparticular business environment or (government) institution. This typeof identity card, however, is less suitable as a travelling documentbecause, for instance, it leaves no room for making notes, such as isrequired for visa, and, moreover, because the required equipment willnot be available world-wide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention intends to provide for an identity card of thetype as referred to in the introduction, which is highly fraud-proofand, nevertheless, has general applications, such as a travellingdocument which can be used world-wide without advanced ancillaryequipment being absolutely required.

In order to achieve the intended objective a type of identity cardaccording to the present invention, is characterised in that a removableinformation carrier has been installed in an input unit of a housingwhich is also easy to handle, that housing has been provided withreading equipment capable of reading the personal data stored in thememory of the information carrier and in that the housing is providedwith representation means in order to represent the data read.

In this type of identity card the actual personal information andidentification data are located in the memory of the informationcarrier. The identification data include. at least among others, thephysical characteristics of a user, such as e.g. his picture,fingerprint, voice, iris etc. which are digitally stored in the memory.Provided that the appropriate equipment is available, a fully electroniccomparison can be made with a digitised registration of the user bymeans of, for instance, a camera, a sensor (system) or another type ofregistration means which has been connected to an electronicidentification system. To this end, the information carrier is removedfrom its housing and entered into reading equipment provided for in thisidentification system. In this way a fully automatic identification maytake place in which the subjective interpretation of a controllingofficer is avoided and the probability of mistakes related to this iseliminated. However, if this equipment is not available, e.g. in case ofapprehension of the user on the street or in a country in which theinfrastructure required for automatic identification is not up tostandard, the housing of the identity card at least provides for theprimary reading and representation means in order to be able. to atleast establish the alleged identity of its user. In this way theinvention provides for an identity card which is compatible with bothmodern, progressive identification methods and a more conventionalmethod of identification.

In addition, a special embodiment of the identity card is according tothe present invention characterised in that a sheet which may or may notbe folded, is attached to. the information carrier, so that the identitycard is also suited as international travelling document just as thepresent-day passport. In addition, the folder also leaves room for notesand stamps of the authorised government institutions such as visa andthe like, possibly in combination with a printed version of the personaldata as also registered in the memory of the information carrier, and apassport photograph of the user. In countries which have or will acquirea fully electronic identification system for their cross-border traffic,such as for instance described in this patent application these notesand visa, if desired, can be entered directly into the memory of theinformation carrier which will then make a folder superfluous. Thefolder, however, ensures that the identity card remains compatible withthe identification procedures as presently applied world wide

A further elaboration of the above-mentioned special embodiment of theidentity card according to the present invention is characterised inthat the information carrier is accompanied by a second informationcarrier with a sheet attached to it which may or may not be folded, inthat both information carriers have been incorporated collectively inthe input unit of the housing and in that both information carrierscontain a unique encrypted code in a memory which can be electronicallyread, and in that means are present in order to establish acorrespondence between the codes of both information carriers and signala difference, if any, between both codes by means of the representationinstallation.

In this case, the primary identity card is formed by the firstinformation carrier which is separated from the second informationcarrier, the latter is mainly intended to house the folder with notesand visa of the competent authorities, possibly in combination with aprinted version. of the personal data as also stored in the memory ofthe first information carrier, together with a passport photograph. Inthe case of internal identification and also in the case of cross-bordertraffic of persons without a visa being required, the first informationcarrier will normally suffice. However, for those countries whichrequire a written visa or other written notifications before accesswithin the boundaries is granted, the second information carrier whichcontains a folder for written notes may be used. The unique codes ofboth information carriers ensure that the second information carrier canonly be used in combination with the accompanying first informationcarrier. Attempted malversation in this respect can be punished by meansof a signal from the housing of the identity card itself, or, ifnecessary, by means of rendering the second information carrier, whetheror not permanently, defective if this carrier is linked to the housingof another information carrier than the appropriate first informationcarrier

The second information carrier may just as the first information carrierbe equipped with a central processing unit in combination with anelectronically readable memory. A further embodiment of the identitycard is according to tho present invention characterised in that thefirst information carrier. in addition to an electronically readablememory, also comprises a central processing unit and in that the secondinformation carrier only contains an electronically readable memory. Inthis case, the second information carrier is only equipped with anelectronically readable memory which results in considerablecosts-saving. It is possible, for instance, to register all personaldata in the memory of the second information carrier or only the uniquecode which indicates to which first information carrier the second onebelongs.

In order to make it even more fraud-proof a further embodiment of theidentity card according to the invention is characterised in that theinformation carrier is provided with one or more authenticity features,These authenticity features may for instance include characters punchedthrough the card or other signs in the information carrier, and, forinstance, a hologram on the card. In this way the genuineness of theidentity card can be guaranteed even more and abuse can be combated.

A comparison of physical characteristics which are registered on siteand stored in the information carrier of the identity card can becarried out in a fully electronic and automatic manner. In view of thisa special embodiment of the identity card according to the invention ischaracterised in that the information carrier includes a centralprocessing unit which has been provided with means for electric datatransfer with a terminal unit of an identification system, and in thatthe central processing unit, which is fed with an effective programmingcode from the memory, is capable of comparing the stored externalcharacteristics of the user with the external characteristics of theuser registered on site. This type of identity card itself contains theprocessing unit required for the comparison to be carried out, andarithmetical ability, so that the identification system does no have toprovide for this. The identification system will then only compriseregistration means in order to incorporate specific physicalcharacteristics of a user of the identity card, which registration meansare linked up to the above-mentioned terminal unit from which therecorded data can be read by the processing unit of the identity cardand subsequently, can be compared with the stored data in the identitycard itself. This does not only simplify the infrastructure required althe check point location, but is also beneficial to the processing speedif various checks which otherwise possibly were to be managed by oneprocessing unit only, are now executed in a parallel manner.

In order to avoid error messages as a result of external changes of theuser as well as to enhance the processing speed of the comparisonreferred to above, a preferred embodiment of the identity card accordingto the present invention is characterised in that the personal datacomprise the user's physical characteristics in parameters. Storage inparameters does not in the first place involve a picture of the user,but rather characteristic features like e.g. the eye to eye distance,the angles enclosed between eyes and nose or mouth, etc. Obviously,these external parameters of the user are less. subject to changes thane.g. wearing spectacles, beard and hair growth or the presence of makeup, enabling a more reliable comparison.

In addition, other physical characteristics of the user, such asspecific length and width measurements and fingerprint data, may also beregistered in this manner, whether or not in combination with these. Bymeans of combining and storing these in themselves independent physicalfeatures and checking these, a virtually 100% airtight access controlmay be achieved In this respect a special embodiment of the identitycard is characterised in that, among others, the voice of the user isalso stored digitally therein.

In order to protect the privacy and also in order to avoid forgery andfalsification, the various data in the information carrier's memory arepreferably stored in encrypted form. The data are thus protected againstaccess by third parties and encryption by means of present-dayencryption techniques may be also executed in such a complicated mannerchat falsification or forgery of identity proof is almost impossiblewithout specific knowledge of the applied key. Moreover, the data arepreferably protected by means of at unique access code. Only therightful user of the identity card knows this unique access code, e.g.in the form of a personal identification number (PIN), which makes itimpossible for a subsequent holder to use the identity card and read thedata with out knowledge of the access code.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be explained in further detail by means of anembodiment and an accompanying drawing. The drawing consists of:

FIG. 1 showing a schematic view of a possible embodiment of an identitycard according to the present invention; and

FIG. 2 which shows a schematic elaboration of an exemplary embodiment ofan identification system for the application of an identity cardaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The drawing as a matter of fact is purely schematic and not drawn toscale. Particularly, for clarity's sake, some dimensions have beenrepresented in a strongly exaggerated manner. Corresponding parts havebeen indicated in the figure with the same reference number as much aspossible.

The identity card of FIG. 1 comprises a card-shaped, synthetic housing100 with an input unit 101 for entering an information carrier 107which, in this case, is also card-shaped just as the housing. Theinterior of the input unit 101 of the housing has been equipped withelectric contacts which are able to cooperate with similarly appliedcontact surfaces 109 of an integral circuit 108 which has been connectedto or installed in the information carrier 107. In addition, the housingcomprises an electric feeding which, among others, takes care of thenecessary electricity supply to the card by means of some of theabove-mentioned contacts. Moreover, the housing 100 contains aninstallation for image representation linked to a screen 103 and readingequipment by means of which the data stored in the memory of theinformation carrier 107 can be read to be represented on the screen. Ifdesired, one may, for that matter, opt for an audio representationinstead of or in addition to the visual representation.

In practice, a number of personal data in combination with one or moreof the user's physical characteristics will be stored in the memory ofthe information carrier 107 enabling the personal data to be representedon the screen 103 without the necessary ancillary equipment. This makesit possible to apply the identity card world-wide, By means of a commandkey 104 installed on the housing for this purpose the various personaldata can be checked one by one, so that a relatively small screen willsuffice for the representation of all relevant personal data.

The identity card in this example comprises in addition to the firstinformation carrier 107, also a second information carrier 207 which hasbeen provided with a folded sheet 210 suited for making notes. Thissheet leaves room for notes by the competent authorities e.g. visa, sothat the identity card according to the present invention is alsosuitable as a valid travelling document. During use both informationcarriers are collectively entered into the housing which has beendesigned with the appropriate internal dimensions. The secondinformation carrier also comprises an integral circuit 208 with at leastan electronically readable memory. In this memory a unique code has beenstored in encrypted form; this code is also present in the memory of thefirst information carrier. The identity card will only function if thecodes in both information carriers 107, 207 fully correspond; in case ofany differences this will be represented in the screen 103 as an errorcode. If desired, the processing unit on the first information carrier107 may also be programmed in such a way that a faulty secondinformation order to immediately combat any fraudulous attempts.

An electronically readable memory in the second information carrier initself suffices and it is not necessary to also provide for a centralprocessing unit. In order to save costs, the second information carrierin this case has therefore been designed with an electricallyprogrammable memory only, a so-called PROM, whereas the firstinformation carrier also contains a full microprocessor in order toexecute the identity control and activate the screen 103 of the housing.

An identification system to be used in combination with the identitycard according to the invention has been schematically represented inFIG. 2 this identification system comprises a central processing unit inthe form of a computer 1 which has been connected to both a screen 2 andregistration tools in order to register the features, either external ornot, of a person to be identified 6. In this example the registrationtools comprise a camera 3 and a microphone 4, as well as a sensor 9 bymeans of which a fingerprint can be read. In addition to this, aterminal unit 5 has been connected to the computer 1.

In order to identify a person 6, this person's picture is recorded witha camera 3 and this person's voice is recorded with a microphone 4.Moreover, a fingerprint is taken electronically by means of the sensor 9and then digitised. The analogue signal which is emitted from microphone4, is digitised and analysed by computer 1 after which the digital voicedata are sent to terminal unit 5. The picture registered by the camera,whether or not processed, is sent by the central computer 1 to terminal5 in a similar fashion. In this case, a digital camera 3 is assumed, butwithin the framework of the invention an analogue camera may just aswell be applied in which case its picture is digitised by means ofwell-known techniques such as a frame grabber in combination with ananalogue-digital converter.

The person to be identified 6 has an identity card according to theinvention consisting of a card-shaped information carrier 7 of handycredit card dimensions, of the type as referred to above. Theinformation carrier 7 has been manufactured from synthetic material andcontains an integral circuit linked to an electronically readablememory. Such a carrier is generally referred to ass chip card, smartcard or similar names. The memory of the card 7 contains the personaldata of the user 6 recorded in digital form, including data concerningthe physical features and in this case, in addition to a digitalpassport photograph and personal data, the user's voice and fingerprintas well. The information carrier 7 is manually entered into the slot ofthe terminal unit after which the data from the computer 1 aretransferred to the card 7. These data are processed in the card by meansof the integral circuit and compared to the stored personalcharacteristics. To this end, the integral circuit comprises a centralprocessing unit which is activated by an appropriate program code whichis loaded onto the card from the memory. In addition to this. thecircuit comprises reading equipment in order to read the personal datastored in the memory of the card. Thus card 7 comprises all means forfully executing the actual identification on the card itself. Theresults of the identification procedure may be represented visually,e.g. on screen 2, acoustically or both acoustically and visually. Screen2 may also serve to represent the user's passport photograph 6 as readfrom card 7, so that the controlling officer of service is also able toexecute a manual identification control.

For that matter, the various personal data of card holder 6, such asname, address and permanent domicile or place of residence, as well asbirth register data, eye colour, length, etc., possibly in combinationwith a passport photographs may, in addition to registration in thecard's memory, of course also be registered on the card 7 in theconventional Away enabling a quick identity control of the user on thebasis of these data. Furthermore, the card may also be provided withe.g. an indication of the country or company, whether or not incombination with the according logo and authenticity features, such asfor instance particularly a hologram or characters punched into thecard, in order to combat forgery.

The personal data in the card's memory 7 comprise various characteristicexternal features in parameters, particularly concerning the user'sexternal features 6, in order to minimise the influence of cosmeticchanges in the user's external features 6 and to enhance the processingspeed. These features may include the eye to eye distance, the enclosed(tri)angle between eyes on the one hand, and nose, mouth or chin on theother hand, the relative position of the ears and the like.Characteristic features like these are not or hardly influenced by theuse of make up changing beard or hair growth, glasses and other cosmeticexternal changes which often considerably hinder a conventionalidentification.

In order to protect the stored personal data, especially in the case ofloss or theft, the card 7 can be linked to a unique access code whichthe user 6 is to enter first before identification takes place and thepersonal data are made accessible. Entering this access code may takeplace by means of the key board 8 of the computer unit 1 or the systemmay be expanded with a separate input unit designed for this use. Forincreased protection the personal data are stored in encrypted form sothat the data cannot be read outside of the integral circuit of thecard. The present-day encryption techniques allow for encryption whichis so adequate that decoding without knowledge of the encryption keyapplied is virtually impossible.

In this way the invention provides for a highly efficient and reliableidentification system, using an identity card according to the presentinvention which can be applied on a large scale, not only as officialtravelling documents such as a passport, driving licence, visa, etc. butalso within secured institutions such as company premises and, last butnot least, military premises.

Although the invention has been clarified by means of this exemplaryembodiment only, it goes without saying that the invention is by nomeans restricted to this one embodiment. On the contrary, manyvariations and embodiments can be realised by an average professional inthis area without him being required to go beyond the scope of theinvention. If desired, the invention may in this way be expanded byfurther registration tools in order to establish features, whether ornot external, of the person to be identified, or the registration toolsmay, for instance, be restricted to only a camera or sensor (system) inorder to record the picture, the fingerprint or eye characteristics.Instead of a more advance chip card, it is also possible to use, lesscomplex card-shaped or otherwise shaped body as information carrierwhich, however, may contain a memory which can only be read by means ofthe terminal. Processing and comparing the to personal data will in thiscase entirely take place outside of the card itself, e.g. in thesystem's central computer unit as described above.

The data transfer in the terminal may take place by means of physicalcontact between the electrical contacts on the card on the one hand andin the terminal on the other hand. However, it is also possible totransfer the data without the contacts. in which case the transfer forinstance, takes place optically, by means of radiography or induction.

The invention may also be applied more broadly than within the strictsense of person identification only, which use is restricted toobtaining the user's identity. The invention may for instance beincorporated in credit cards, cash cards and the like, for the purposeof verifying the data of its rightful user. To this end, the card inquestion will not only be equipped with data and/or software enablingthe desired payments to be made, but also with digital personal data andcharacteristics in accordance with the invention. If the card is used,the identity of the user will then be determined, e.g. on the basis of ascan or the fingerprint or a recording of the external characteristics,and the payments can only be made after this has been electronicallyconfirmed. In this way the invention provides for a virtuallyfraud-proof means of payment, which, among others, is not susceptible toloss or theft and the like. More over the identity card according to thepresent invention can also be programmed in such a way that it is suitedas multiple identity card for various environments, For instance astravelling document, driving licence, and proof of access for one ormore company premises or events. Moreover,the housing of the identitycard according to the present invention is not restricted to the examplegiven. It may for instance be expanded by a sound generator in order toenable an audio, or even spoken representation or signaling. One mayalso apply a more sophisticated screen in order to e.g. fully representa passport photograph stored in the memory of the information carrier.In addition, the single command key may be replaced by a number ofsimilar keys or even a full numeric or alphanumeric key board for thepurpose of making the control of the identity card even morecomfortable.

In short, the invention provides for an intelligent identity card whichhas no or hardly any restrictions when it comes down to ease ofoperation, protection against fraud and usability.

What is claimed is:
 1. An identity system comprising: a card-shapedinformation carrier having an electronically readable memory capable ofstoring a user's personal data in digital form including data concerningphysical characteristics of the user; a housing having (a) an input unitfor receiving the information carrier, (b) reading means capable ofreading the personal data stored in the memory of the informationcarrier and (c) representation means for representing the data read; anda second information carrier having a sheet attached, both informationcarriers jointly accommodated in the input unit of the housing, and aunique encrypted code stored in both carriers in an electronicallyreadable memory, and means available to establish code correspondence ofboth information carriers and to signal the difference by means of arepresentation installation.
 2. The system according to claim 1 whereinthe card-shaped information carrier in addition to an electronicallyreadable memory, also comprises a central processing unit and that thesecond information carrier only contains an electronically readablememory.
 3. The system according to claim 1 wherein the personal datacomprise the user's external characteristics in parameters.
 4. Thesystem according to claim 1 wherein the personal data have beenprotected by means of a unique access code.
 5. The system according toclaim 1 wherein the card-shaped information carrier further comprisesfurther comprises one or more authenticity features.
 6. The systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the card-shaped information carriercomprises a central processing unit having means for electric datatransfer with a terminal unit of an identification system, and in thatthe central processing unit, activated by means of an adequate programcode from the memory, is capable of comparing the user's externalfeatures as stored in the memory to the user's external featuresrecorded on site.
 7. The identity system of claim 1, wherein the housingis approximately the same size as the card-shaped information carrier.